A Marrero man faces spending the rest of his life in prison for his conviction for anally raping an 8-year-old boy five times. Ozaki Trice, 27, denied sexually abusing the boy, and defense attorneys said the child fabricated the story that even his mother doesn't believe.

The Jefferson Parish jury disagreed and after almost two hours of deliberation Thursday night found him guilty as charged of aggravated rape. Life in prison is mandatory, and Judge Ray Steib of the 24th Judicial District Court will hand down the punishment June 9.

Trice is closely acquainted with the victim, now 14. He was convicted of abusing the child in the homes of the boy's grandmother and uncle in 2009. The boy disclosed the abuse to a state social worker in July 2009, leading to an investigation and Trice's arrest.

The boy's family had been under state supervision because of concerns that he and his siblings had a substandard home life, according to testimony. His mother, 35, was jailed earlier this year for not cooperating with prosecutors and has since been charged with being an accessory to aggravated rape. She testified Thursday she thought her son was lying about Trice.

"Someone has to be accountable to this kid, when mother and father let him down," Assistant District Attorney Shannon Swaim said in closing argument, asking jurors to be the victim's protector. "Someone has to be here to protect this kid."

The boy repeatedly told the same story of being raped and the circumstances around the abuse. "He told this consistently, over and over and over and over again," Assistant District Attorney Emily Booth told jurors.

The case against Trice rested almost entirely upon the word of the boy. A child abuse pediatrician who examined the boy found no evidence of injury from rape. But the doctor also said victims who've been similarly assaulted rarely show injury.

Trice's attorney, Marceline Bleich, disputed that testimony, saying there's no medical evidence to support the rape claim, and that the boy never once reported experiencing pain. "We're not talking about a finger in a nose," Bleich told jurors.

She and public defender Renee Bourg also assailed the Sheriff's Office, accusing deputies of failing to adequately investigate the boy's claims. Days passed, and no one searched the homes where the boy said he was raped.

"The physical evidence? We could have had some. And we don't," Bleich said. "That should bother you. It bothers me."